


Vagabond

by thePetetoherPatrick



Series: Fake AH Crew [3]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter/Funhaus RPF
Genre: And violence, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fake AH Crew, GTA V AU, and blood, and crime, children...don't read this, idk what else to tag but will add some later if I think of them, there will undoubtedly be smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-26
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-06-04 16:36:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6666169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thePetetoherPatrick/pseuds/thePetetoherPatrick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If you’ve read “I Never Thought of You as Dangerous.” and “Trapped” I’m sure you’ll be happy to hear THERE IS MORE! Yup that’s right I’ve done it again. This time it’s a prequel and will be multiple chapters. Chapter 1 is 3rd person but the rest will not be. (It was done for a Prompt: In that moment he saw eternity, so I couldn’t switch it to first person like I wanted to) </p>
<p>Here is the story of how James Ryan Haywood became the Vagabond.....</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Offer

In that moment he saw eternity. Or the closest thing akin to it anyway. Everything he knew, the entirety of his life, the future he hoped for, and the one he feared. All of it came flooding into his mind in that second. How could he have blinded himself to the inevitability of this offer?

"Well?" She asks impatiently, tapping her foot to the rhythm of an unheard melody.

"I don't know if I could do that." He sighs in frustration. "What you ask of me.....how could anyone ever ask that of another person and still sleep soundly at night?"

"Quite easily actually." She scoffs. "It's something you get used to with time. You'll learn." She grins.  
He stares at her, unsure and afraid of what could happen. If he's caught it's over. His life would halt in it's tracks and he'd lose everything.

"I still don't know." He mutters. "After what I've seen you do.....I can't deny I almost see the appeal but realistically how do you not get caught? How can you live the way you do?"

"I'll admit it's not without it's challenges but the payout is well worth the risk." She snickers. "Will you join me and take this job or not?" She sighs somewhat more impatiently than before. "It's a chance at a fresh start, a way to reinvent who you are."

He stands there pondering the implications and possibilities of such an opportunity. He watches as she shifts her weight from one leg to the other. Such a tiny woman. Unlike anyone he'd ever met before. Her purple hair is only the start. The amount of attitude packed into her tiny body is highly disproportionate. Her outfit doesn't look like it would be conducive to her job but somehow she makes it work. His mind churns as he contemplates what he's about to do.

"Fine, but you'll have to teach me what you know." He grunts.

She smiles mischievously, "I doubt that'll be much of an issue." She hands him the gun that was tucked inside the top of her skirt. "What's your name?"

"Ryan." He mumbles.

She arches an eyebrow. "No, you need a real name. Something people will know you by but won't know your real name." She rolls her eyes as if it should be obvious. He shrugs.

"Ryan isn't my real name, it's my middle name, but I prefer it." He says.

"Well that's fine with me but for others you need a better name." She thinks for a minute.

"What's yours?" He asks hoping she won't mind.

"Well my name is Meg but most know me as Doll with a Gun, or Doll for short." She smiles. "I got the name because of how small I am and I used to like to dress up a bit. Perhaps your name will have to come later as well." He nods, it sounds reasonable enough. "Now let's go, we've got a helicopter to steal and places to be." She grabs hold of his sleeve and pulls him out of the alley to a motorcycle waiting by the curb. She motions for him to drive and he just looks at her till she hands him a helmet and motions more insistently. He puts on the helmet and swings his leg over the bike. She sits down behind his and wraps her arms around him. He kick starts it and makes sure she's holding on tight before taking off, leaving his life of manual labour and minimal pay behind, to risk everything on one insane offer.


	2. Gunfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ok so let's go back to how the first chapter even came to be....  
> This is how Ryan meets Meg in the first place....

I wipe my brow and look around the warehouse. It's void of life other than me and the night security guard. I look at the clock. Three in the morning. Great. I shake my head and crouch down to heave the big sack of sugar over my shoulder. I carry it to the area in the back and put it with the other 568 of 1000 that I have to move before 7am. Overtime has got to be my least favourite thing but is a necessary evil when you have bills to pay. Minimum wage, or what passes for it anyway, sucks just as much. I walk the distance back to the pile of bags of sugar and pick up another one only to have the contents cover the floor around me. I know for a fact that's gonna come out of my paycheck. Shit. I drop the bag and head for the broom.

I quietly clean up the mess and start to go back to work but I hear something outside that makes me stop. What was that? Was that gunfire? I hear it again. That was definitely a shot. I set down the bag and try to figure out where the sound is actually coming from. I don't have to wonder long though. A jeep busts through the bay door used for unloading the trucks and boats. The docks outside are complete chaos. About 5 or 6 guys shooting at one person. The person is tiny and moves fast. From here I see it's a girl with purple hair. She fires at the guys and hits one in the leg. I lose track of everything going on as I stand there like an idiot, frozen, until I feel a biting pain in my shoulder. I look at it and see blood seeping out to soak the shoulder of my t-shirt. A stray bullet must have hit me. The pain only gets worse the longer I stand there. I put pressure on the wound and watch as the girl takes out each of them. 

When she’s done she turns towards me without lowering her gun. She examines me and relaxes, stepping towards me cautiously. 

“You got hit?” she says quietly. “Are you alright? It wasn’t me was it?” her voice becomes more worried, as if she is worried more about hitting the bystander than the fact that I just saw her kill like six people. 

She steps closer to me again and looks me over. I step back and she looks at me cautiously. She sets her gun on the ground and kicks it to the side, then tries stepping toward me again. I want to step away from her but instead I stay still. What could this tiny girl possibly do to me, I’m almost a whole foot taller than her. I let her pull my hand away from the wound and peel the cotton of my t-shirt away from it. 

“Come with me and we can get that fixed up.” she says softly. 

“I’ve got another 431 sacks of flour to move by morning, I don’t have time to go wherever you plan on dragging me.” I protest but she shushes me. 

“Dude, you’re not gonna be able to work like that and we aren’t actually going that far.” she looks at me with a ‘you’re an idiot’ look plain on her face. I roll my eyes and shrug. She grabs hold of my arm and hauls me toward the doorway. “Do you have any stuff you need to grab?” she asks looking over her shoulder. I shake my head and she leads me out of the building. 

“You just gonna leave those bodies there?” I ask stupidly. 

“Of course not, the clean up crew is already on their way, they’ll deal with it.” she says as she stops beside a small car. She let’s go of me and looks at the car for a second. 

“Please tell me you are not stealing this car.” I say hanging my head, kind of already knowing the answer. 

“Technically, we are stealing this car, I don’t have time to screw around trying to get into this thing the way I usually would so come here.” she demands and I reluctantly stand where she wants me. “It has no alarm so if you could plant a nice strong kick right about here that’d be helpful.” she points to the center of the window.

“Are you crazy?” I ask her looking between her and the window. 

“Probably, but that’s besides the point, you’ve got muscle, use it.” she sighs impatiently. I yank my t-shirt over my head and wrap it around the hand that was keeping pressure on my wound, creating a cushion of protection around my knuckles and over my hand. 

“I ain’t kicking no damn window, I’ll cut my leg or something.” I say and sigh before driving my fist through the window. It breaks enough for me to reach the lock to open it. She open the door and brushes away the glass on the seat. She reaches over and unlocks the passenger seat. I go around to that side of the car and climb in. She doesn’t give me the chance to buckle in before she’s got the car hotwired and takes off. 

In about 10 minutes we pull into the back parking lot of an apartment building and into a garage. “Got a new car for ya, Coe.” she calls to the guy sitting hunched over a desk in the corner. He waves at her and nods. 

She continues through another door off to the side and is ambushed by a woman only slightly taller than her. 

“You’re home, how’d it go?” the woman looks at me. “Who is this and why is he not wearing a shirt?” 

“Good, they are all taken care of, and this is an innocent bystander that got hit by a stray bullet while witnessing the whole thing.” the tiny woman tells the other. 

“Oh boy, let me have a look, I’ll see if I can’t fix you right up.” she smiles sweetly. She gestures for me to follow her to the next room. I follow and she leads me into a kitchen. The tiny woman disappears down the hall. “Sit.” the other woman demands so I perch myself on a stool from the breakfast bar. I watch her as she looks for something. Her dark hair is kept long and neat. She says something I don’t catch in another language. I hear the door from the garage open and Coe walks in. 

“What are you looking for my little Latina flame.” he asks hugging her from behind. Spanish, she must have spoke in Spanish.  
“The pliers I keep here for when one of you comes home with a bullet in you.” she says, frowning in confusion. 

“Oh, I’m sorry babe, I borrowed them. I’ll go get them.” he smiles at her and she rolls her eyes as he heads back to the garage. “Here you go, I couldn’t find mine that look like that and none of my others could fit for what I needed.” he comes back and hands them to her. She goes about gathering gauze, needle and thread, and peroxide, then she sterilizes the pliers. 

“Alright…” she looks at me sitting on the stool. “What the fuck.” she starts to curse in what I assume is Spanish as she climbs up onto another stool and sits on the counter so she can properly get at my shoulder. “Hopefully you’re not a big baby like Ty or this is gonna hurt a lot.” She says as she swats my hand away from the wound and starts trying to get the bullet out. I wince at the pain but it’s not completely unbearable. She gets it out and sighs in relief. I let go of the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. 

She takes a cloth and places it just under the wound before pouring some peroxide over it. I clamp my teeth together at the stinging sensation that sends a shiver down my spine. She cleans it up and then picks up the needle. She sterilizes and threads it and sets to work stitching me up. She works quickly and gently. She is a fairly lovely little thing, a kind round face, dimples that are distinct when she smiles, and dark brown eyes that can look gentle or judgy in an instant. Before long she’s done and covering it up with gauze as a precaution. 

Ty, or Coe or whatever he’s called, wanders off down the hall where the tiny woman disappeared. He comes back not long after though holding a t-shirt. “It may be a bit of a tight fit but it’s the best I’ve got until Risinger comes back cause I ain’t going into his room while he ain’t here.” he says firmly and I realize that his voice is even deeper than mine. It seems out of place coming from the smaller man. He’s taller than both the women but not by much. Definitely smaller than me.

“What about Risinger’s room?” another male voice says coming towards us from the garage. 

“Well nevermind, hey man do you have a shirt that’d fit this guy? Our boss sure knows how to pick ‘em.” he smiles and winks at the newcomer. This guy is taller than the others still but still smaller than me. His long-ish dark hair tucked under a beanie, wearing a black button down and plain jeans. He has bright blue eyes and a pretty face with just the most minimum amount of stubble on his jaw. I look at Ty in comparison. He’s stockier, the muscle to Risingers lean build. He keeps his hair shorter, the front of it looks like it’s seen some gel. His hair and facial scruff are a lighter brown but not as light as my own. These four are a peculiar group. 

Risinger studies me. “I might have a button up that’ll fit him but none of my t-shirts would.” he says. “That ok?” he asks me directly and I nod. He disappears down the hall, that I now assume must lead to all the bedrooms and probably the bathroom. As he disappears the tiny woman comes back in pajama pants and a tank top, her purple hair dripping wet and a pair of glasses pushes up on her nose. She by far has to be the prettiest but also the tiniest. Even the Latina woman isn’t as petite as this girl. She looks up at me and smiles before going past Ty and looking through the fridge. 

“So, boss, what’s the plan with this guy?” the other woman asks as Risinger comes back holding a worn looking light blue button up. He hands it to me. 

“Well, he can stay here until I figure that out.” the tiny woman says before taking her snack with her back down the hall. I pull on the shirt and button it up, it’s almost snug but it fits, even if just barely. I roll up the sleeves deciding not to fight with them any further. They’re a touch too short anyway. “Alright, well buddy, I’m Mariel. I kinda deal with all the stuff at home base and take care of everyone, I also take calls and set up jobs. This is Tyler, but he’ll also answer to Ty or Coe. He’s my other-half and usually deals with basic tech and automotive crap.” she smiles at him. “And Jon, better known as Risinger, our advanced tech guy and clean up crew. We all go out on jobs when needed but usually we just send out the boss because there aren’t many of us. We are Team Free Play.” She smiles at me. “Now, I’ll get you a pillow and blanket and we’ll see if we can’t make the couch comfy for you.” 

“Dude, he ain’t gonna fit, he’s too tall.” Jon laughs. “I’ll crash on the couch, give the guy my bed so he’s not totally sore in the morning.” I try to speak up in protest but he hushes me and goes to get his pillow. He comes back carrying a pillow and blanket. Mariel grabs hold of my wrist and drags me behind her down the hall. 

She points out the different rooms. “The first door here just a closet. The second is Jon’s room. Then there is Tyler and my room on the left and the bathroom on the right. The room at the end of the left is the meeting room and the one on the right is the boss’ room.” she says before leading me to Jon’s room. It’s neat and tidy aside from the cluttered computer desk. A pillow is thrown onto the bed and one of the blankets has been taken from the bed. Probably the one Jon likes best. “Get some rest, I imagine she’s got a plan for you tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took so damn long, tbh I got stuck and couldn't figure out where I was going with this for a bit and then I was just busy but I sat down, worked shit out and got a new chapter for ya so I hope you liked it, there is more to come soon.


	3. A New Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan settles into his new life and figures things out.....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SMUT WARNING! it's shittily written but it's there

I wake up to a whole lot of banging and clattering. As my eyes adjust to the light coming in through the window I see the tiny purple-haired woman standing in the doorway banging together a pot and a wooden spoon. “Rise and shine motherfucker, we’ve got shit to do today, I’ve got a job and you’re coming with me.” she says with a devilish smile on her face. 

~~~~~

“So you just moved all over the place in Georgia as a kid?” Meg asks at the end of today’s training session. It’s been two months of this. Training every chance we get, but Meg is a firm believer in learning on the job as well. I’m the only one that goes out on jobs with her. I’ve become accustomed to the way things work now. 

“Yeah, I kind of liked it though, always in some place new.” I smile as I towel some of the sweat away. 

“Huh,” she thinks to herself about something. Then she shakes her head and leads me back inside to the kitchen wear Mariel is just piling some takeout onto the counter and handing out plates.

~~~~~

“You’re gonna do this job by yourself, it’ll be your first job on your own.” Meg smiles as I read over the plan she’s given me. “Should be no problem for you.” 

Yeah it looks simple enough, but on my own? It’s a hit that’s been put out on some store owner downtown. All I have to do is catch him in the alley out back and get the job done but I’ve never had to kill. I look up at her. “You sure?” I ask cautiously. She nods, grinning from ear to ear in pride. “Okay.” I sigh. I head the closet in the hall and grab a knife and a handgun with a silencer. I tuck the knife under my belt and the gun into the back of my jeans. I look down at the plain black t-shirt and shrug. It’ll be good enough. I grab an extra clip just in case and shove it in my pocket with my burner cell. I have to do this entirely on my own so I head for the motorcycle in the garage. Meg told me that it’s mine now. I tie up my hair with an elastic and slip on the skull mask Mariel found for me. She thought it’d look cool and would keep me from being recognized. Meg says I should dye my hair but I don’t really like the idea, no matter how good she thinks I’d look with black hair. 

I kick the bike to life and head out. I’m not carrying much but I’m carrying all I should need. I weave through traffic heading for downtown. I kill the engine a few blocks away. It’s dark and he’ll just be closing up shop for the night. I walk to the alley that Meg had me scope out yesterday. I lift myself up and over the small gate with ease. I hear a crash further down the alley and duck behind a pile of crates. I pull the knife out of my belt, I don’t want to use the gun unless I have to. Don’t want to draw attention to myself with the noise, even with the silencer it’s actually really quiet here right now, someone would hear. I see the tall man stand up. He tripped on a crate. I take a long, deep breath before flinging myself out at him. He goes to shout but the cold steel of my blade meets his throat and he thinks better of it. He looks up at me, pinned to the ground beneath my weight trembling in fear. I make the mistake of looking him in the eye and my heart falters. I close my eyes, and take another deep breath. I grab hold of his forehead, holding him down, and without opening my eyes I slash his throat. I stand up and turn away before I open my eyes. 

I turn around to make sure he’s actually dead and see him laying in a growing puddle of his own life blood. There is no spark left in his eyes, only the remaining whisper of fear haunting his face. I feel a shiver take over my body and my stomach twists inside me. I lean over a garbage can as I feel the bile rise. I lose all control and feel my stomach heave, before I know it the entire contents of my stomach abandons me. I fall to me knees and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. I stupidly look again but this time I’ve got nothing to throw up. I feel someone standing over me and look up to see Meg. 

“The first is always the hardest.” she says. “But I’m proud of you, Vagabond.” she smiles at me and squats beside me. 

“Vagabond?” I ask, arching an eyebrow at her. 

“It means one who wanders without a true home.” she says. “It’s a fitting name for a man who has no true place of origin, you wandered around so much that there is no one place you can say you really came from.” 

I smile at her and nod. Vagabond. I kind of like that. I lean into her, resting my head on her shoulder. 

“Come on we should get back to the apartment so Risinger can clean this up.” she says taking my hand and helping me up. We walk back to my bike and ride home.

~~~~~

“He returns!” Tyler grins. “Vagabond, how’s it feel to have completed your first hunt?” 

I grin that he knows the name Meg gave me, she undoubtedly told them before she came to get me. “Little nauseous but otherwise I’m fine.” 

Mariel pulls out a large gift bag and sets it in front of me. “We all chipped in to get you this. It’ll protect your arms and torso from blades and sharp shit when you’re out on jobs.” 

I peer into the bag and pull out a black leather jacket with blue on the shoulders and white lines encircling the bicep area and the cuffs of the sleeves. I slip it on and it fits perfectly. “Thanks you guys.” I smile, the sleeves are even the right length. 

~~~~~

I sit in the garage, tinkering away with my bike. Tyler takes care of cars but apparently isn’t terribly great with bikes. This one is a lot like the one I had in my old life so it’s no challenge for me. I sit there adjusting things and thinking about today. The name Vagabond still rattling around in my head. I feel a hand on my shoulder where the tank top I wear exposes the flesh. I look up to see Meg. She’s wearing the skimpiest nightgown I think I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t leave much to the imagination, showing clearly the rose designs in the lace of her black bra and panties. She doesn’t say anything, just steps in front of me and sits in my lap. I look at her with what I’m sure is an idiotic look of confusion. 

She just smiles though and kisses my cheek. She wraps her tiny arms around my neck and kisses along my jaw. 

“Meg, what are you….?” I try to ask but she shushes me and kisses me on the mouth, driving her tongue into my mouth. I moan involuntarily and grab hold of her hips, running a hand up her back, brushing under the nightgown. She kisses me with a heat and a blatant desire that is so obvious I can’t help but get hard. Our soft moans mix together in the silence clinging to the room. The garage. I snap out of it and break the kiss. “Hold on a second.” I say and she tries to protest but I simply stand up, taking her with me. She clings to me and let’s me carry her to her room where I gently set her on the bed. I pause for a minute, is this really happening? I shake my head and refocus as Meg tugs at my shirt. I lean down and kiss her neck. She smiles and moans, I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. 

She manages to get my shirt over my head and tosses it on the floor. She traces the now healed scar on my shoulder and smiles. I kiss her again, brushing my hands up her thighs and over her hips. I push the soft material of her little nightgown up as I continue to move my hand up along her ribs. She arches her back so I can slip it up and over her head. She watches me, examining my face. 

“You’ve never…?” she whispers breathlessly. It’s not a question, she already knows the answer. She pushes me off of her and sits up. I hang my head and get ready to walk out but before I can so much as move she’s got me pinned to the bed. She places her knees snug to either side of my hips. “Well, my southern gentleman, I’ll just have to fix that won’t I?” she grins mischievously and leans over me, her purple hair hanging down over her shoulders. She sits up and purposefully rolls her hips over me and I groan. She laughs lightly at the sound, it obviously pleasing her. She shifts down, undoing my belt and jeans quickly. She slips them off of me surprisingly easily. She kisses my neck and shoulder, running one hand through the strands of long hair that have escaped my hair tie. The feeling sends fire racing through my veins. 

Suddenly I feel her move and her weight disappears. I open my eyes and look down to see her kneeling between my legs. She grabs the elastic band at the top of my boxers and slides them down and off of me. She takes my length in her hand and runs her hand over it, barely really touching me but it’s enough to make the fire in my blood drift toward my stomach. I close my eyes and lean my head back, moaning as I feel her run her tongue up the underside of my dick. She takes me into her mouth, running her tongue around and over the head, before setting a steady rhythm of stroking and sucking me. Meg steadies herself with her free hand on my thigh. My breath comes heavier, harder as she goes. I manage a split second of clear thought to know that I’m not ready to be done yet.

I sit up and gently pull her off. I keep my hand in her hair and kiss her hard, she moans into it and swipes at my lip with her tongue. I open my mouth and let our tongues meet, kissing her deeper and loving the way she feels. I pick her up and roll us over so she’s laying on the bed beneath me. I don’t break us apart even as I reach behind her to undo her bra and toss it on the floor. I move my kisses down her body and she gasps as I bite at her neck gently before taking one of her nipples between my teeth, teasing and sucking gently. I kiss down her body while slipping her panties down around her ankles and tossing those on the floor with everything else. It’s then that I notice the scars across her torso, marring her soft skin. I lean down and kiss them the way she did the one on my shoulder. I hear her giggle faintly and look up at her to smile. I run my hands over her thighs and between her legs, brushing over her clit with my thumb. She moans softly and grabs at my shoulder. I shift so she can reach and she pulls me up over her to kiss me. I feel her leg wrap around mine, trying to pin me in place. 

She bites my lip lightly as she kisses me, urging me forward, wanting more. She reaches between us to line me up and grabs at my shoulder, her nails biting at the skin. I push gently until I bottom out, then stop and let her adjust. I kiss at her neck and brush some stray strands of purple hair away from her dark eyes. I feel her tug at me again so I pull out a bit to push back in, drawing a delicate and satisfying moan from her. It takes me a bit to establish a rhythm but once I do she is moaning beneath me and kissing me fiercely. I feel the fire building in my abdomen, and as she cries out as her climax hits her I chase my own. She pushes at me. 

“Pull out.” she manages to say just loud enough for me to hear. I do as she says, only barely in time as stars burst behind my eyes. I move off of her as I collapse and I feel her move, she comes back with a cloth to clean us up. She tosses it into the laundry hamper in the corner of the room and sinks into the bed beside me. I kick at the sheet with my foot till I can reach it with my hand and pull it over us. I put my arm around her and pull her to my side, drifting off as I feel her trace circles on my hand with her thumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will be updating this a bunch soon I think, only gonna be a couple more chapters and oh boy do I have some shit in store for you guys


	4. Working

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan's life is continually changing and more of who the Vagabond is is revealed......

I look at the slip of paper Mariel gave me on my way out today. A quick job, just one easy target. For the last month it’s been like this. Mariel gives me small jobs, easy cash, everyday and I do one or two bigger ones a week with Meg. I’ve spent some of my time learning about my team. They are called Team Free Play, though I have no idea why, Jon says it’s because they kinda freelance, don’t really stick to a side and don’t really do the whole allies thing. I’ve also learned about their reputations and nicknames. Meg gets called Doll with a gun because she does in fact look like a small doll, and usually carries a gun. I learned that some people have called Mariel “Milk Maid”, though I’ve been told not to ask about that one and I feel like I probably don’t want to know. Tyler and Jon go by their last names because they don’t actually work in the field much and can’t really be tied to any of the hits, Coe and Risinger are just speculated to be involved but no evidence to support it. 

I’ve heard of other crews in the city but haven’t run into any of them and don’t know much about them. Just that they are apparently bigger operations than us and have real bad reputations. Mariel says she’s had to deal with one of the crews a couple times but the other one kind of exists in it’s own little universe. Meg gets kind of upset whenever you bring up the group they’ve run into before though so I don’t know their name. Don’t know the other one’s name either honestly. There are also a few freelancers without crews, they occasionally team up but usually work solo, Meg calls them the Youngbloods, says they are all new to the scene, though I’m newer than they are. I’ve only seen one from a distance and he looked like he needed a few training sessions with Meg. Jon said that the only other people around I should worry about are the Veterans, the ones who’ve retired from the scene. He said it’s best to avoid stepping on their toes and that they get testy if you’re not careful about who you mess with. 

I pull my bike up to the curb a block away from today’s hit. The knife Meg gave me this morning tucked away inside my jacket, alongside a gun. I look at the slip of paper from Mariel again, double checking the address. She wrote the name below it and actually gave a reason for the hit this time. I’ll gladly help the client look out for their young kids. I make my way down the street to the building. The front door to the apartment building wasn’t locked, the lock has been broken a long time from the looks of it. I slip upstairs to the third floor and slowed to look for the right apartment. Mariel said he lives alone and only goes out at certain times of the day. I find the right door and take out the lock pick set I got a week into doing my own hits. I test the doorknob first though and find it’s unlocked so I stuff the set back in my pocket. I pull the gun out of my jacket and carefully swing the door open. I peek in and see nothing. 

The apartment is messy and, in all honesty, kind of gross. It’s not real big so I can easily say he’s not in the main area. I step inside and close the door. I hear water start running as I open the bedroom door. I look in and see the bathroom door open and the light on. I step inside quietly leaving the door open this time. It only takes a few long strides to reach the bathroom door, he’s leaning against the sink looking in the mirror as he drags a cheap razor over his skin. He’s scrawny, and greasy looking, his glasses sitting crooked on his beak-like nose. I roll my eyes. I think about why I’m here again and decide to scare him a bit first, I smile to myself. I step out so he can see me in the mirror. 

“What the fuck?” he shrieks and drops his razor in the sink. “Who are you? How’d you get in here?” he starts rambling and stuttering. Then he sees the gun in my hand and his eyes go wide. “Look man, I don’t have much money but you can take what I’ve got just leave me alone.” 

“I’m afraid I’m not here for your money, PJ, there’s someone who doesn’t much appreciate your extracurricular activities and has coughed up a decent sum to have me put an end to them.” I say, grinning at the look on his face as the realization hits him. He knows he fucked up. “Now I am keen on being polite despite my line of work so if you would like I’ll allow you to get dressed at least.” I say tossing the pair of jeans laying in front of me to him. He catches them and changes into them quickly. “Now, any final remarks? Any message you want passed on?” he cowers and shakes his head. I cock the gun and press the barrel against his forehead. I close my eyes and pull the trigger. Without looking I turn and head out the door. I pull out my phone and text Jon that he can come clean up now. That’s one job done for today. I have to pick up some stuff for the job Meg has planned for tonight. I hop on my bike and head out to make my stops. 

When I get back to base Jon is sitting there smiling at me, he offers a high five and I slap his hand on my way past. Mariel is just dishing out tonight’s dinner as I walk into the kitchen and set the stuff I picked up on the counter. Bullets and meatloaf sharing the same counter space is something I’ll never quite get used to but it’s normal in this house. Mariel shoos me out of the kitchen and hollers that dinner is ready. I help her carry the plates to the table and sit down as the others join us. Meg looks a little stressed which is not totally unusual before a job like this but I still worry about her. 

“You alright, honey?” I ask her as she sits beside me. She nods silently and kisses my cheek. Tyler strikes up a conversation about my bike, saying he wants to add a storage compartment to it for me. I nod and say that’s alright if he thinks that’ll be useful. 

“Hey, you know tonight is Halloween right?” Mariel says pointing to a bowl of candy on the counter. “Trick or Treaters will start coming in a bit so I want all of us dressed up so that any of us could answer the door.” she says picking up our plates. 

“I don’t have one.” I mutter but Meg takes my hand and leads me to our room. She sits me down and pulls out her makeup. I try to pay attention to what she does but it’s pretty hard to do. When I look in the mirror when she is done I’m met with a strange skull like design, all red, black and white. It looks really cool and mildly terrifying. “Thanks baby.” I say and hug her. I put on a black long sleeve shirt and let her get into her costume. She comes out in a cute cosplay of an anime character. I smile at her. We answer the door each time a kid knocks and eventually run out of candy. “I’m gonna take a nap before the job alright?” I say to her and she nods. 

~~~~~

I wake up in the dark and look at the clock on the nightstand. Oh crap, I’m late why didn’t Meg wake me up? I get up quickly and get dressed. I wander out to the living room and find Jon and Mariel staring at Jon’s phone. 

“Hey, why didn’t Meg wake me up? Where is she?” I ask setting my gun on the table and pulling my hair back into it’s elastic. 

“She said you seemed tired so she’d just do the job by herself, said it’d be fine and that we should just let you sleep.” Mariel says. 

“But she’s been gone for two hours. The job should only have taken a half hour and she still hasn’t called for clean up. We can’t call her and risk her phone ringing and her getting caught if she’s trying to lay low right now. We don’t know what’s happening.” Jon says with a look of utter distress on his face. I shake my head and tuck my gun into my jacket. 

“I’m going to see what the hell is going on.” I storm out and jump on my bike before either of them can say anything. I take off toward the place we’d been watching for the last week in preparation for this job. I pull up to the parking spot we picked a few blocks away and see Meg’s car sitting there. It’s empty. 

I head down the back alley and come out at the lot where the warehouse she initially found me sits, we were supposed to hit some people that had taken it over as a place to store stolen good and take a specific package from inside. But what I’m looking at isn’t a warehouse. It’s what’s left of a warehouse, all rubble and ashes. It’s smoldering and some places are still burning. I feel a lump rise in my throat. Meg. Where is Meg? I look around and no one anywhere so I make my way down into the mess that used to be the warehouse. 

I look around and find nothing. I pull out my phone and click Meg’s name on the screen. I hear her ringtone going off somewhere in the rubble, I follow the sound and find her phone on the ground, the screen cracked and covered in dirt and ash. I pick it up and cancel the call. The screen is sitting open on a memo. 

“You shouldn’t get involved in things above your pay grade. You won’t see her again. Team Free Play is done.” is all it says. I look through the phone, searching calls and texts for any evidence that she knew there was a risk. There are several texts from a number without a name. “Don’t get involved” “this job isn’t worth it” “You’ll regret it if you don’t back off’. She had been warned and she didn’t listen. She left me behind on purpose, but why? Did she want this to happen? Did she want to leave? What have they done with her? And where is she? Is she even still alive?

My head is swimming and I feel too dizzy to really stand anymore. I fall to my knees clutching her phone in my hand. I flip through the picture gallery. Pictures of her, pictures of the crew, pictures of us. I feel something hot on my face and bring my hand up to wipe it away. Tears escaping without me noticing I was even crying. I wipe my face with my hands and shove my phone and hers into my pocket, and force myself to stand up. I walk back to my bike quickly and call Jon.

“Come pick up Meg’s car.” I growl out and hang up. I go back to the apartment and head to our room, brushing off Mariel as I go. Tyler grabs a hold of her and hugs her, shushing her and telling her not to push me. I grab a couple bags and throw my clothes into them. I look around the room and take the couple books sitting on the desk. I look at the desk again and take the makeup she’d used on me and her necklace I’d given her that she usually wore but never took on a job with her. I slip it into the inside pocket of my jacket. I grab my bags and head back out to the garage. I secure the bags to the back of my bike. 

“Ryan, please, we’ll find her, we can find her together but don’t leave.” Mariel grabs at my arm. “She loved you and we’ll need you when we find her.” 

“Someone took her, god only knows if she’s still alive but I intend to find out. You guys need to stay here, none of you do work in the field, it’s not even logical for you to try and work in the field and help me. I’ve got a plan I think.” I brush her off again. 

“No, you’re gonna do something stupid and get yourself killed.” she pleads with me. 

“Stay here Mariel.” I say and swing my leg over the bike. She just looks at me for a minute. Then she holds out a small box for me to take. “What’s this?” I ask as she places it in my hand. 

“Meg had me get them made for you.” she says and turns to go back inside. “Ryan, just don’t lose sight of yourself okay, take care of yourself, and bring her back to us, but make sure you come back too.” 

“I’ll do my best.” I call after her as she disappears into the apartment. I start up the bike and take off. I don’t have anywhere to start but I know that they won’t be here. I drive till I find a small motel and pull in. I rent a room and sit on the edge of the bed. I look at the small box Mariel gave me and sigh heavily. I open it and find myself looking at a set of dog tags. I laugh and look at them, they don’t have my name on them. They read Vagabond instead, and I smile and slip the chain over my head. The metal is chilly where it touches my skin. I tuck them into my shirt and walk over to the bathroom. I look at the makeup in the top of my bag. I look in the mirror and have an idea of how to scare answers out of people. First I have to figure out how to do it though. I pick up the makeup and set to work trying to figure out the design she’d done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a horrible horrible person I know but I'm not sorry <3 all is fair in writing friends, you should know that by now though


	5. The Fake AH Crew

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two years later...the Vagabond finally finds his place with the Fake AH Crew....

I sit looking at the wall opposite me, I feel like I’m so close to figuring it out. Two years of hunting, learning new tricks, making a name for myself. People know the Vagabond now, some even call me the Mad Mercenary. I’ve kept my look, the leather jacket and face paint. I dyed my hair black after a while to add to the dark look. I’ve picked up a few tricks and maybe forgotten some of my old self, but I see no problem with that. It’s helped me in my endeavours. I’ve seen Mariel and the crew a few times since but they’ve gotten normal jobs now. Mariel works at a little cafe near the apartment. Tyler found a garage willing to hire him and Jon works at a tech shop. They all still live together and still do some work from what I heard. Mariel sometimes sends me leads but nothing seems to have panned out until now. I caught wind that this crew is known to take people and that the two leaders will be here today. 

I look at my watch. Any minute now. All I know about them is that they are a big crew, they have to leaders instead of one. They are a couple, one goes by the name of Chief. That’s all I know. I look down through the vent. A man with dark hair wearing a suit passes under me, holding the hand of a red haired woman in one of those ridiculous vacation shirts with the crazy prints on them. I drop down and land behind the woman, sliding my arm around her neck and pinning her to my chest. She doesn’t make a sound but the man spins around and draws a gun. He falters when he sees the blade against her throat. 

“Now hold on.” he throws up his tattoo covered hands. He’s one of those dad-looking guys with a bushy mustache and looking like he hasn’t slept much. Maybe seen the bottom of a few too many whiskey bottles in his lifetime. He’s about six foot tall and only mildly fit looking. Not unattractive overall though. “Don’t hurt her, what do you want?” 

“Where is Meg?” I growl. “I’ve heard your gang has a thing for taking people. So where is she?”

“I don’t know anyone named Meg, we don’t take people, we take them in.” he seems to relax, though I don’t see why he should. “We take people into our home and ask them to join our crew. None of them against their will and all can leave if they want to.” 

“You’d remember Meg, she’s got purple hair.” I growl, not loosening my grip on the woman. 

“Well then I’ve never met her,” he says calmly setting his gun on the ground and kicking it towards me. “Look, I’m Geoff,” he offers me his hand. “Please let go of Jack, we can take you back to headquarters, you can look around, ask the others. Do you have a place to stay?” 

I let go of the woman, Jack apparently, and she runs over to Geoff. “I stay in motels.” I study them. “Fine, lead the way and I’ll follow on my bike.” 

“Oh no, we live up in the penthouse of this building.” he gestures to the elevator. “Perhaps you can stay here, it’d be better than a motel…” he starts to say but Jack grumbles and pulls at his sleeve. “He had a reason to be aggressive, I’d do the same thing were I looking for you, he means you no harm...or at least if he values his skin he’d better not.” He looks back at me, I nod cautiously and kick his gun back to him. 

“Lead the way.” I say and he nods. We get in the elevator and he pushes the button to go to the top. 

“So what name do you go by?” he asks casually. I contemplate telling him to mind his own but he is trusting me enough to allow me into his home. 

“Vagabond. They call me the Vagabond.” I sigh and keep looking at the wall, watching the number go up as we ascend. 

“Wait, like the Mad Mercenary?” his eyes go wide.

I nod, “Some people started calling me that.” I don’t look at him or Jack to see the looks on their faces. 

“Who in their right mind would piss you off?” he mumbles to himself. “So you don’t have a crew.” 

“I wasn’t like this before Meg went missing. And I used to, but it’s been a while, they aren’t really a crew anymore though.” 

“Well, Vagabond, welcome to the Fake AH Crew.” he offers his hand. “I mean if you’d like to join us.” he says carefully. 

The elevator doors open and I suddenly hear people. We step out and I look around. It’s a sizeable place, two floors and mostly open. I look around until my eyes come to rest on three men sitting in a sunken living room. There’s a hispanic man in a purple hoodie sitting on a beanbag chair with a game controller in his hand. His glasses slightly askew as he leans away holding the controller away from the lankier blond leaning over him trying to reach it and squawking at him about something being unfair in a british accent. 

“Boi! Help me!” he calls to the other man who is sitting on the couch laughing. He shakes his head causing his dark red-brown curls to bounce lightly. 

“No man you’re on your own there.” he laughs, his voice coloured with a hint of Jersey in it. 

“Ay, fuck heads, shut up.” Geoff hollers, switching entirely from the polite man before. They all pause and look at him. “This is….” he pauses. “What the fuck is your name?” 

“Ryan.” I say looking at the three in the living room space. They are obviously a good bit younger than Geoff and Jack. 

“This is Ryan and he’s looking for someone, if any one of you has seen a purple haired woman you had best speak the fuck up.” he orders them and they all sit up shaking their heads. “Well then that is settled. They wouldn’t lie, they know I’d kick their asses.” he turns back to me. “The guy sitting on the couch readjusting his glasses is Michael, he’s my explosives guy and goes by Mogar in the field. The Puerto Rican in the purple sweater is Ray, goes by Tuxedo Mask. The idiot Brit is Gavin, or Jester, he kind of deals with tech and stuff. I’m Chief and this is Mama Bear. So, what do you think?” he gestures to each of them in turn and then turns toward me. I nod, this crew will do for now, they’ve got resources I don’t have on my own. “Alright boys, this is Vagabond, he’s one of us now.” 

“Got any specialties? We’ve only heard rumours.” Jack says as the other three gape at me. 

“I’ve gotten particularly good at getting answers from people who don’t want to give them. But you give me a target that needs to be taken care of and I’ll do it. That’s what I started out doing.” I say, watching Gavin out the corner of my eye as he watches me. 

“Excellent.” Geoff smiles. “Now, I would suggest you go get your stuff from wherever you are staying so we can show you your new home Take Jack’s key to get back in.” he says and hands it to me. “Your vehicle can be parked in the garage downstairs, if you’ve got one. That button will open the door and close it when you are done.” I nod and take the keys. I head down to my bike. A new crew, a new start, a new chance to find Meg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this is it for this fic...stay tuned for the next installment of this series ^-^ also if you have read the first two you should probably do that.


End file.
